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Michigan 100% Cities

Grand Rapids is the first city in Michigan to establish a 100% renewable goal.

MICHIGAN CITIES ARE GOING 100% RENEWABLE

Clean, renewable energy is our future and around the world, cities are leading the way. More than 20 U.S. cities have set 100% renewable energy goals, including Grand Rapids and Traverse City. Make your community a clean energy leader! Read more and see our toolkit to find out how.

WHY 100%? For a stable climate, scientists agree we need to shift to 100% renewable energy (RE) in just decades, and doing so will bring many benefits. It will make healthier communities for our families, boost local economies, create jobs, and it saves cities money. For these reasons and more, many communities in Michigan are going 100% renewable.

IMPROVES HEALTH & CREATES JOBS If our state gets to 100% renewable energy, Michigan families would save over $150 in energy costs and $2,000 in health care costs every year.[1] Moving off fossil fuels would reduce the air pollution that triggers asthma attacks and respiratory illnesses, improving quality of life and saving lives.

Clean energy also creates good-paying local jobs and makes local economies more resilient. The U.S. solar industry employs over 260,000 people and solar jobs grew 17 times faster than the overall economy in 2016.[2] And wind energy has led to millions of dollars for rural landowners in some rural Michigan counties.[3] 100% RE is good for communities and is good for Michigan!

100% IS ACHIEVABLE Research shows it’s doable, and cities are already doing it. Peer-reviewed, published studies have found that 100% clean, RE is achievable for the entire U.S. right now, and will just become easier as storage and other technologies improve. Renewables and efficiency now cost less than any other energy source in Michigan,[4] and are expanding rapidly, with large solar arrays now being built in Cadillac, Grand Rapids, East Lansing and other parts of the state.

CITIES ARE LEADING THE WAYMore than 20 cities in the U.S. have set or achieved 100% RE goals. Burlington, Vermont has already achieved its 100% RE goal, and the city will save $20 million over the next decade as a result of its 100% RE goal!

City

By Year

City

By Year

Ann Arbor, MI

2035

Northport, MI

2025

Aspen, CO

Achieved

Palo Alto, CA

2017

Burlington, VT

Achieved

Park City, UT

2032

Columbia, SC

2020

Pueblo, CO

2035

East Hampton, NY

2030

Rochester, MN

2031

Georgetown, TX

2017

Salt Lake City, UT

2032

Grand Rapids, MI

2025

San Diego, CA

2035

Greenburg, KS

Achieved

San Francisco, CA

2020

Lancaster, CA

2020

San Jose, CA

2022

Moab, UT

2032

Santa Monica, CA

2033

Nassau, NY

2020

Traverse City, MI

2020

Even entire nations and states are setting 100% RE goals – Hawaii has a 100% by 2045 renewable electricity goal and Costa Rica already is powered by 100% renewable electricity.

CASE STUDY: TRAVERSE CITY GOES ALL IN

Traverse City is a city on the shores of the Great Lakes that draws tourists from around the world. A 100% RE goal helps protect these resources and solidify the community as a leading sustainable city. Local groups came together in spring of 2016 with the goal of passing a 100% RE goal. They researched how it could be done, then met with the mayor, city commissioners, and electric utility. They also held community events with former Grand Rapids Mayor Heartwell, who led a 100% RE goal there. In December 2016, Traverse City unanimously passed a 100% RE goal for city operations by 2020. This is the first step. A Green Team is also creating a plan to make all of Traverse City run on renewable energy.

MAKE YOUR COMMUNITY A CLEAN ENERGY LEADERMost Americans support more clean energy and care about climate change. Unfortunately, there are serious efforts at the state and federal levels to halt and roll back our clean energy and climate policies. Action at the local level is more important than ever.

We can work with our communities, take our future into our own hands, do what is right and move rapidly toward 100% renewable energy.